The Republican journal., 1887-04-21

planted an orchard of sixty trees upon its sides
and summit. From its upper battcments a
magnificent view is obtained. At your feet
lies Nesting the quaint old town of Miamis-
burgh, while the fertile valley of the river is
seen stretching away for miles. That the
builders of these mounds were an agricultural
people there is abundant evidcDcc. Their ni-
mense numbers alone preclude the possibility
that they were nomad races. The savage re-
quircs at least fifty times the area upon which
to hunt his game, than the civilized man who
subsists upon the products of the soil. The
State of Ohio will support an agricultural pop
uation of ten millions; while it never in its
history contained over tifty thousand of our
American Indians. That the population of the
Mound Builders ran into the millions can ea>i-
ly be demonstrated. The centres of their pop
uation were in the same places they are by the
race of to-day. The finest attainmcnts of their
civilization were in the Southern portion of the
State; their strongest military works were To-
Gated in the North. This would seem to indi-
cate that the fierce and savage races by whom
they were finally conquered came from the re-
hcsC iSS'ohs VI HCiC II iiv WI
dence that the Mound Builders ever advanced
beyond the Eastern border of Ohio Here are
the great Notifications which protected them
from their barbarian foe. As l sit writing
this letter in the village of William>tield. can
raise my eyes and see one of their largest forts
in this portion of Ohio. 1t is an immense cir
cular mound, consisting of two embellishments,
Il, ~, A..
walls are ten feet distant from each other, and
the outer one is three-quarters of mile in cir
cumfcrence. 1t is picrcedb by one opening, lead
ing by graded way down to the rivers edge.
The Indians have not the slightest tradition
connected with it beyond the vague notion that
it was the work of the great spirit. But Il
short distance away is an ancient huryin@
ground of the builders of this fort 1t contains
about four acres and is laid out in the form Of
an oblons square. When first examined by
the early settlers it was covered with old
growth trees; but the graves could easily be
distinguished by slight depre>sions disposed in
straight rows, and were estimated to number
over four thousand. On digging into the
graves it was found that many of the skeletons
We're still intact. Some of the skulls were of
sufficient size to admit the head of an ordinary
man, and the other bones We're proportionably
arge-thus showing their owners to have been
a gigantic race. The bones were blackencd by
time, and on exposure to the air soon crumbletl
into dust. If there is any truth in phrenologi-
cal science, the size of these skulls would indi-
cate that they were Il race possessed Of superior
intelligence. In one jaw bone was found an
artificial tooth, made of solid silver, and of the
most beautiful workmanship. The tooth is
still in possession of the A>htabuIa Historical
Society, a silent witness that the art of ,lcnt>-
try is by no means new. Traces of ancient
cultivation cen still lie seen amid the forest
land> of this vicinity. exhibiting signs Of itav-
ing once been thrown up into squares and ter
races, and lait, out into gardens. But | have
already dragged this letter beyond its legli-
mate length and must reserve many other iii
terc>ting facts for the sucrccdin" issue of the
journal.